Lawyer slams Niki Lauda's widow amid inheritance feud

(GMM) A bitter legal battle over Niki Lauda’s (pictured in 2014) estate has reignited, with the late Formula 1 legend’s lawyer accusing his widow Birgit Lauda of damaging his legacy.

Lauda’s close friend and attorney Haig Asenbauer spoke to Bild newspaper, saying he could no longer remain silent about what he described as “posthumous defamation.”

“My main motivation is to set the record straight about things that actually hurt Niki’s honor,” Asenbauer said. “The most absurd allegations about Niki Lauda are circulating, which he in no way deserves.

“Since Niki himself can no longer comment on this, it is our duty to clarify a few things.”

The triple world champion, who died in 2019, left behind a carefully structured estate and private foundation designed to support his family – including Birgit and their twins, Mia and Max, as well as his two sons from his first marriage to Marlene Knaus.

According to Bild, Birgit began legal action a year after Lauda’s death, challenging aspects of the inheritance arrangements and pension benefits allocated to her. The lawsuits – worth a combined EUR 30 million – claim she was unfairly treated under the Lauda Private Foundation’s terms.

Asenbauer rejected suggestions that Birgit or the twins were left out. “In fact, Niki Lauda stipulated that Mia and Max should receive more from the foundation’s assets than any other family member,” he said, adding that “PSL has already distributed over EUR 30 million in cash and in-kind benefits to family members, half of which went to Birgit and her children.”

One of Birgit’s two court cases, worth EUR 8.5 million, has already been dismissed, though she has appealed the verdict. A second case, valued at EUR 22 million, is still pending.

“What Birgit is doing is severely damaging to her own children,” Asenbauer warned, noting that the funds she is contesting would otherwise remain within the foundation for their future.